Here's what experts say about fixing the low-bridge problem on Onondaga Lake Parkway

View full sizeMike Greenlar / The Post StandardAn SUV travels under the CSX bridge on Onondaga Lake Parkway toward Liverpool. A Megabus hit the bridge Sept. 11, killing four people. The photos perspective was captured with a fish-eye lens.

Ever since four people died when a double-decker Megabus hit the low railroad bridge over the Onondaga Lake Parkway on Sept. 11, Central New Yorkers have poured out their solutions on websites and in letters.

The Post-Standard vetted many of their ideas through state and local officials and traffic and railroad experts.

Each potential solution has an obvious benefit but may also bring what traffic engineers call an unintended consequence that is, if you fix one problem, you could create another one that's worse. For example, chains banging against the top of a truck will get the drivers attention, but will it startle him into veering into another lane?

The parkway is a state road. State Department of Transportation director Stanley Gee talked in general with The Post-Standard about alternatives, but he refused to make available engineers or even the local public relations officer who are more in touch with the details.

State officials have added the bridge to an ongoing study of the safety of the road, after five fatal crashes since 1991. Gee said solutions such as raising the bridge might be too expensive and impractical, but one expert says that's not as difficult or as costly as state officials suggest.

Some of the most popular ideas that have emerged:

RAISE THE BRIDGE

Pros: Increases the height from 10 feet 9 inches to the state minimum of 14 feet.

Cons: The bridge is privately owned, so it would require cooperation of CSX. Spokesman Bob Sullivan declined to answer specific questions about the bridge, saying only that the company would be willing to talk to the state if asked.

According to state law, the state transportation department has the authority to force CSX to make changes to the bridge.

With metal wheels on metal tracks, trains can only climb gentle slopes. State officials said raising the bridge 3 feet could require raising the tracks gradually for several miles in each direction.

That is disputed by David Clarke, director of the Center for Transportation Research at the University of Tennessee and a specialist in rail design. It would only require a quarter-mile on each side, he said.

State officials have said that raising the bridge might also require reconstruction of the at-grade crossing at Old Liverpool Road, but that is about a mile from the parkway bridge.

TEAR DOWN THE BRIDGE; REROUTE THE LINE

Pros: This would allow for the widening of the parkway if state officials decided to put in a median or turn lane to reduce head-on crashes.

Cons: Again, it would require either CSX cooperation or state action. The line carries eight trains a day, according to the Federal Railroad Administration. One train can pull 80 cars or more. CSX says it ships more than 3 million tons a year on the line. The line serves 15 customers in the North Country, including Fort Drum, and continues toward Montreal.

"If the line were closed, freight coming from the west and south toward Canada would have to travel all the way to Albany before heading north," said Don Western, Onondaga Countys former director of economic development.

"I can't think of any other rail line that goes north," said Western, who became familiar with the rail system while working with companies looking to relocate or expand in Onondaga County.

Unrelated to the crash, however, CSX has asked the federal government for permission to route trains from east of Albany on another railroads lines from Albany to Montreal. That request is pending before the Surface Transportation Board. Its not clear how that would affect the load on the line through Liverpool.

Jim Commentucci / The Post-StandardThe wreckage of the Megabus is being towed away by Meyer's Towing, of Camillus. The accident closed the Onondaga Lake Parkway for almost 10 hours.

TEAR DOWN THE BRIDGE; PUT AN AT-GRADE CROSSING ON THE PARKWAY

Pros: This gets rid of the bridge entirely. The tracks would cross the parkway closer to Interstate 81, then run along the north side of the parkway, where the land already slopes gently toward the current level of the tracks.

Cons: Traffic would be stopped on both sides of the road several times a day while trains passed, and accidents could occur at the crossing.

LOWER THE ROAD

Pros: This would take CSX out of the picture. The parkway is a state road bordered by county land, so Albany and Onondaga County would have complete control.

Cons: That highway is probably at grade with the lake now, and lowering (the road) may create hydraulic problems that may be exacerbated by snow blowing across the lake, Gee said.

Clarke said large sump pumps would be needed to keep water off a lower road and, if those pumps failed or couldn't keep up, the road would be wet and icy. The road would have to be rebuilt for long distances on either side of the bridge to keep the slope gentle enough for vehicles to pass during slippery conditions.

BAN COMMERCIAL VEHICLES

Pros: This would allow the parkway to be used by commuters but not by trucks and buses that might hit the bridge.

Cons: It would put more truck traffic on other roads, especially Old Liverpool Road, a busy commercial district lined with dozens of driveways and parking lots, each of them an accident in the making.

In addition, at least 12 signs already warn over-height vehicles coming from I-81 about the bridge, so would more signs help? This would require more enforcement by state police and sheriffs deputies, which is being done in Westchester County.

CLOSE THE PARKWAY ENTIRELY

Pros: It would turn the parkway into part of the park.

Cons: It would dump 23,500 vehicles per day onto other roads, primarily Old Liverpool Road, which is used by more than 20,000 vehicles per day now. That could increase accident rates on that road, and would cost the county an estimated $10 million to $12 million to upgrade that road to handle the extra load.

STEP UP POLICE ENFORCEMENT

Pros: It maintains the full use of the road by all vehicles and is relatively inexpensive.

Cons: Bridge hits are so infrequent 10 in the past five years that stationing a sheriffs deputy to catch over-height trucks or buses wouldn't make sense, said Sgt. John DEredita of the county sheriffs department.

SUSPEND DEVICES

Pros: Dangling chains, tubes or even cowbells (used in the Boston area) that strike the top of an over-height vehicle get the attention of drivers. They're used in other states, and officials say they've been effective in reducing strikes, especially if they're combined with an infrared detection system.

Cons: A chain could snap and strike another drivers windshield, causing that person to swerve and hit other vehicles. In addition, getting a truck drivers attention might not always be a good thing: A startled driver could veer into another lane or suddenly hit the brakes.

ADD RUMBLE STRIPS

Pros: A more subtle alert.

Cons: Rumble strips are generally hard plastic glued onto the road, and they can be ripped up by snow plows. Rumble strips such as those on the side of the Thruway are grooves in the pavement, and they can allow water to seep in and degrade the road.

The strips are more commonly used to slow traffic rather than alert drivers to low bridges, so would they work?

INSTALL FLOODLIGHTS

Pros: These would make the bridge and the reflective orange strip that runs across the lower beam more visible at night. It would be among the cheapest options.

Cons: They wouldn't do anything to reduce bridge hits during the day, and its questionable whether drivers who have already missed flashing signs and a dozen warnings about truck height would be dissuaded by a lighted bridge.

USE OVERHEIGHT-DETECTION SYSTEMS

Pros: An infrared beam detects a too-tall vehicle and then triggers alarms, flashing lights or signs that give drivers more active warnings than static signs. The system could also trigger a stop light or even the lowering of an arm such as those at railroad crossings. The cheapest systems could be installed for $50,000 to $100,000, and various states, including Oregon and Massachusetts, have used them successfully.

Cons: Giving drivers one more warning might not help if the drivers aren't paying attention. The systems can sometimes be triggered by snow or birds; a system that blared horns was installed in 1978 but later was removed because snow set it off too many times.

The more aggressive approaches a stop light or an arm could cause sudden stops and rear-end collisions.

PUT TRANSMITTER ON BRIDGE, RECEIVERS IN TRUCKS

Pros: In this imagined network, a transmitter on the bridge would send a signal to all trucks, which would be outfitted with receivers. The driver of an over-height truck would get a warning inside the cab.

Cons: The technology is in its infancy. A prototype is being tested on the Long Island Expressway by a consortium of states, but widespread use is years away and would require a large investment by the state and trucking companies.

"With the budget, this state hasn't exactly been conducive to building new infrastructure right now," said Kendra Adams, executive director of the New York State Motor Truck Association.

INCLUDE LOW-BRIDGE INFORMATION ON GPS UNITS

Pros: This is a statewide, or even nationwide, solution that would alert truckers to low bridges everywhere, including the parkway.

Cons: It requires the state to compile information on thousands of bridges across the state, and cooperation of the multiple manufacturers of GPS devices to include the information. In addition, this wouldn't apply to noncommercial GPS units, which sheriffs deputies say the Megabus driver was using at the time of the crash.

Gov. David Paterson last year proposed a law that would have required any trucker using GPS to use an enhanced unit, which would route trucks away from low bridges and other road restrictions. The legislation was not adopted.